1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computers and computer networks. More particularly, the invention relates to analyze user activities in a mobile network and identity privacy leakage therefrom.
2. Background of the Related Art
For a growing number of users, online social networking (OSN) sites have become an integral part of their online activities. These OSN sites often function as the portal and launching points from where users receive news updates, venture over to other sites, and so forth. In addition, many websites now also have ties-in with various OSN sites, e.g., enticing users to recommend or comment on news items, web posts, etc. via a simple click of buttons. With wide adoption of modern GPS-equipped touch-sensitive smart phones and emergence of various mobile applications and services (e.g., location-based services), information access is nearly ubiquitous and literally at the fingertip.
With all the value and convenience it brings to users' personal, social, and professional lives, this new era of smart phones and online social networking also presents a quandary to users: how to, or is it even possible to, preserve privacy in this new era? Different from their earlier incarnations, today's OSN sites require users to register using their true identities (at least in principle). In addition to all the personal data (e.g., age, gender, personal photos, friends), these sites also track and record a variety of user online activities, such as messages exchanged and content shared with others, articles read and commented on, pictures browsed or video watched on the sites and other affiliated sites. At the same time, when accessing OSNs and mobile services on smart phones, users' current physical information may also be recorded and tracked due to the common use of automatic updates of location-specific contents.